Cargo containers for overland and marine freight handling are produced in various standard sizes, including, among others, containers of 20, 40, 45, 48, and 53 feet (length) by 96 or 102 inches (width). As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,027,291 issued to Sain, et al., these containers are typically shipped in a stacked formation. Different sized containers can be tied and stacked together using the stacking device disclosed in the ""291 patent, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) of 1994 and the Trucking Industry Regulatory Reform Act (TIRRA) of 1994 has eased commerce between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and promoted interstate trucking competition. The trucking industry uses standard highway trailers, which are integrated with rear wheels and are typically 102 inches in width by 48 or 53 feet in length. Because of the size differences and particularly the fixed wheels, the trailers cannot be stacked one on top of another during transport over rail or water. Instead, the contents of a highway trailer are unloaded from the highway trailer and loaded into a conventional cargo container. This requires a great deal of resources, including additional cargo containers, machinery, labor, etc., to move the contents, not to mention additional considerations, such as damage to the cargo due to rehandling, storage, and theft.
In this respect, U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,135 issued to Glassmeyer discloses hauling a cargo container itself on a truck flatbed, instead of a standard highway trailer. This requires a flatbed, which is not a standard trailer. It would be more convenient to transport the highway trailer itself so that upon unloading, a truck can just hitch onto the trailer and drive off.
Accordingly, there is a need to directly transport a conventional highway trailer by rail or water. The present invention meets this need.
Additionally, if one considers the world""s most affected areas, e.g., Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic, Hawaii, Alaska, and Guam, these trades, like most of the world, are serviced primarily by xe2x80x9cpurexe2x80x9d LO/LO (lift-on/lift-off) container vessels with little or no RO/RO (roll-on/roll-off) space for wheeled cargo, such as trailers. The present invention also addresses the solution to this infrastructure problem, which solution requires no permanent modifications to either trailer or vessel design, or significant cost expenditure.
The present invention relates to a highway trailer carrier, a system that includes the carrier and at least one stacking device, and a method thereof.
The carrier according to the invention includes a support base having a support area for accommodating trailer wheels, at least one lift brace attached to the support base, and at least one trailer support attached to the support base for supporting a part of the trailer remote from the trailer wheels.
The trailer support can be collapsible, and adjustable at least between a first position and a second position, which is positioned inwardly of the first position along a longitudinal direction of the support base. The support can include a first section and a second section. The first section can be attached to the support base and the second section can be adjustably and pivotally connected relative to the first section. Specifically, the first section can comprise a pair of front rails and a pair of back rails secured to the support base, and the second section can comprise a front member and a back member, respectively connected to the front and back rails. The front and back members are connected together. Specifically, the front and back members can be detachably connected together.
The front member is substantially upright and the second member is angled when the front and back members are connected to each other. The second member keeps the second member from pivoting relative to the front rails. The front and back members are movable together as a unit between at least the first and second positions. The front member can include a connecting plate for securing the front member to the trailer.
The support base can include a pair of guide rails for guiding the trailer wheels, which are rear wheels, and wheel wells for accommodating the rear wheels. Each of the wheel wells can include at least one wheel stop to prevent the trailer wheels from moving beyond the respective wheel wells. The guide rails can diverge outwardly along the ramp. The support base can further include at least one ramp for loading the trailer onto the support base.
The support base can include anchors for securing the trailer to the support base. These anchors can comprise D-rings pivotally mounted to the support base. The bottom of the support base can include at least four mounting fixtures. The sides of the support base also can include at least four mounting fixtures.
The at least one lift brace can comprise a front lift brace and a back lift brace attached respectively to front and back portions of the support base. Each of the lift braces can include at least two mounting fixtures.
The system can include some or all of the features of the carrier described above, but having a plurality of mounting fixtures at least on the base for receiving twist locks of the stacking device.
According to the method of transporting a highway trailer on a transport, the steps include providing a carrier for supporting the trailer, which has at least a set of rear wheels, loading the trailer onto the carrier by backing the trailer onto the carrier, supporting a front end portion of the trailer on the carrier, such as by using the trailer support described above, anchoring the trailer to the carrier, such as by using the anchors described above, providing at least one stacking device, locking the stacking device onto a stationary part of the transport, lifting the carrier and lowering the carrier onto the stacking device, and locking the carrier to the stacking device. The stationary part of the transport can include a deck of the transport, one of more cargo containers anchored to the transport, or other carrier or any stationary area. Again, the carrier can be locked using the mounting fixture and stacking device combination or the mounting fixtures with twist locks.